Bright Ideas To Help You
With Your Boating Chores

This week's boating tip is a collection of "Bright Ideas" contributed by Bob Pone, the Marine Do-It-Yourselfer.

Every now and then, pour a shot of cooking oil into your marine toilet, especially if it's difficult to pump. This will lubricate the seals, "O" rings and moving parts.

If you are going to bathe in salt water use shampoo or joy. A rich cleaning lather will result.

Add a little rice to your salt shaker to help keep the contents flowing easily.

Formula for figuring out how much bottom paint in gallons you'll need for one coat. One coat = your boat's LOA x Beam x .85 divided by square feet covered per gallon listed on the paint can.

For two cycle engines that require a 50: 1 mix of oil to gas, use one pint of oil for every six gallons of gas. For a 100: 1 mix of oil to gas use 1/2 pint of oil for every six gallons of gas.

After washing the interior of your boat, add a small amount of Mildicide powder to the rinse water. This will keep the interior mildew free longer.

To remove mildew from the interior walls of your boat pour two tablespoons of non-chlorine bleach into a spray bottle. Spray then wipe. It cleans the mildew away and will help prevent the mildew from coming back.

Increasing a propeller's pitch by one inch will reduce the rpm by 50 to 100.

There are a lot of sail and canvas cleaners on the market. Star Bright makes a canvas cleaner that works pretty good on dirt, grease and mildew stains. Use a mild dish washing liquid like Joy or Ivory, that's if the canvas is in good shape. It's best cleaned with lukewarm water (under 100 degrees f) and mild natural soap. Mix a 1/2 cup of non-chlorine bleach and 1/4 cup of natural soap(not harsh detergent) with one gallon of water. Let it soak in. Use a brush for stubborn stains, then rinse with cold water and allow to air dry. You want to use something mild, that will not weaken the fabric or threads.

A product called Mirror Glaze works great on plastic windows. They have several brands depending on how aggressive your cleaning needs are. The plastic will last longer if covered from the UV rays. UV rays in a short time will discolor the plastic turning it brown. After cleaning make sure no water is left on the vinyl window, the sun will boil the water and leave a permanent discoloration.

Next time you haulout, polish your propeller then coat it with Teflon grease. No living critter can hold onto it. It will last for months.

In clear water, to determine your distance from the horizon, use this formula. Distance from the horizon = 1.17 x the square root of the height above the sea in feet.

To find the eye of a hurricane, face the wind and with your right hand, point 112 degrees to your right. In the southern hemisphere face the wind and with your left hand, point 112 degrees to your left.

For a quick clean up of your fish blood stained and smelly cutting board, rub in meat tenderizer paste, let sit for 20 minutes. Rinse with cool water then rub with half of a lime.

Use liquid neoprene to seal electrical connections that won't stay dry. It seals as well as insulates.

Try unplugging your trailer's light harness from your tow vehicle before backing up into the cold water. This will maximize bulb life, because the bulb won't be subjected to the thermal shock.